Sonnet 130
William Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 mocks the conventions of the showy and flowery courtly sonnets in its realistic portrayal of his mistress.
Why is it called a sonnet 130?
Sonnet 130 is the poet's pragmatic tribute to his uncomely mistress, commonly referred to as the dark lady because of her dun complexion. The dark lady, who ultimately betrays the poet, appears in sonnets 127 to 154. Why is it called Sonnet 130? None of Shakespeare's sonnets have titles, so we refer to them by number, in this case, 130.
Are there allusions in Shakespeare's Sonnet 130?
Shakespeare uses satire all throughout Sonnet 130, as the poem is a work of satire in-itself. The individual lines 1-4 each satire a hyperbolic allusion , such as "my mistress' eyes are as beautiful as the sun" (line 1) and "my lovers' lips are as red as coral" (line 2).
What is the problem or conflict in Sonnet 130?
What is the problem in Sonnet 130? The "problem" in Sonnet 130 is that Shakespeare is attempting to write an over-the-top sonnet full of elevated language about a woman who is clearly only ordinary looking -- or perhaps even ugly. Keeping this in view, what is the conflict in Sonnet 130?
What is the mood of Sonnet 130?
“Sonnet 130” has a tone of truthfulness. Throughout the sonnet Shakespeare says somewhat mean but truthful facts about the appearance of his mistress. Even though the statements seem cruel and mean he is speaking the truth and these flaws don’t bother him. The sonnet’s mood is loving.
Who is Shakespeare talking about in Sonnet 130?
Sonnet 130 is the poet's pragmatic tribute to his uncomely mistress, commonly referred to as the dark lady because of her dun complexion. The dark lady, who ultimately betrays the poet, appears in sonnets 127 to 154.
What is the conclusion of Sonnet 130?
Ultimately, the speaker concludes that, even if his mistress cannot be credibly compared to the typical imagery of love poems, his love is still real and valuable, and his mistress is still beautiful.
What kind of sonnet is Sonnet 130?
traditional English love sonnetSonnet 130 consists of 14 lines. It is a traditional English love sonnet, which is divided into three quatrains and a concluding heroic couplet in the end. The poem consists of external rhymes. Its rhyme scheme has the form abab cdcd efef gg.
What is the irony in Sonnet 130?
The irony in Sonnet 130 is that although the speaker seems to be describing an ugly woman about whom one might not expect to see love poetry written, he is actually describing a truer and greater love than poets who exaggerate their lovers' beauty. The poem is a genuine, if unusual, description of true love.
What is the mood of Sonnet 130?
“Sonnet 130” has a tone of truthfulness. Throughout the sonnet Shakespeare says somewhat mean but truthful facts about the appearance of his mistress. Even though the statements seem cruel and mean he is speaking the truth and these flaws don't bother him. The sonnet's mood is loving.
What is the central idea of the sonnet?
What is the central idea of the sonnet? The speaker wants his muse to help him immortalize his love. narrator. Read Shakespeare's "Sonnet 100."
Where is the metaphor in Sonnet 130?
“If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damasked, red and white.” Metaphor: It is used to compare an object or a person with something else to make meanings clear.
What is the setting of Sonnet 130?
Though no setting is explicitly stated, we're imagining this poem set in a courtroom. We know it's a love poem and all, but listen to the way it's presented.
How does the tone of Sonnet 130 shift?
The tone of Sonnet 130 shifts in the third quatrain. The speaker suddenly says that although his lover does not live up to the exaggerated beauty...
What is the theme in Sonnet 130?
The main theme of Sonnet 130 is the relationship between love and beauty. Contrary to almost all other poems of the time period, the speaker argu...
What is the irony in Sonnet 130?
The irony in Sonnet 130 is that although the speaker seems to be describing an ugly woman about whom one might not expect to see love poetry writ...
What is the meaning of Sonnet 130?
Sonnet 130 initially seems like an unflattering and insulting description of the speaker's lover. However, it is actually an exploration of how mu...
Summary: Sonnet 130
This sonnet compares the speaker’s lover to a number of other beauties—and never in the lover’s favor. Her eyes are “nothing like the sun,” her lips are less red than coral; compared to white snow, her breasts are dun-colored, and her hairs are like black wires on her head.
Commentary
This sonnet, one of Shakespeare’s most famous, plays an elaborate joke on the conventions of love poetry common to Shakespeare’s day, and it is so well-conceived that the joke remains funny today. Most sonnet sequences in Elizabethan England were modeled after that of Petrarch.
When was Sonnet 130 first printed?
1609 Quarto Printing of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 — An image of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 as it appeared in its first printing, in 1609. Reading of "Sonnet 130" — Ian Midlane reads "Sonnet 130" for the BBC, introduced by some smooth jazz.
What is the theme of Shakespeare's sonnet?
Like many other sonnets from the same period, Shakespeare's poem wrestles with beauty, love, and desire. He tries to find a more authentic, realistic way to talk about these things in the sonnet, and gleefully dismisses the highly artificial poems of praise his peers were writing.
How many lines does Shakespeare write in Sonnet 130?
Sonnet 130 is another example of Shakespeare’s treatment of the conventions of a sonnet. He follows the conventional form and writes it in fourteen lines. He also uses the conventional iambic pentameter and the division of sonnet into three quatrains and a couplet.
What did Shakespeare do when he wrote his sonnets?
Shakespeare, when he wrote his sonnets, followed the conventions of form but deviated in the subject matter. First of all, many of his sonnets did not address a female beloved. They were addressed to a young male. Secondly, the description of the beloved’s beauty is also not the same as the convention. When he addresses the black lady in his last twenty sonnets, he does not alleviate her to the status of gods. He considers her as much imperfect as other humans are.
How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?
William Shakespeare is probably the most renowned writer in the history of English literature. He wrote more than thirty plays and more than 150 sonnets. His sonnets were published in a collection in 1609. Among these sonnets, sonnet 18, sonnet 29, sonnet 116, and sonnet 130 are the most famous ones. Shakespeare’s sonnet collection is usually ...
What does the speaker in these sonnets tell him about?
The speaker in these sonnets tells him about the mortality of life and the ways he can escape its clutches. These sonnets also stress the role of poetry in immortalizing its subjects. The second part consists of the remaining twenty-eight sonnets. The sonnets of this part are addressed to a female.
What is hyperbole in a poem?
Hyperbole is an exaggerated overstatement or understatement in a literary piece. In the sonnet, the speaker exaggerates the flaws of his beloved to prove his point. He wants to prove that the convention of describing human beauty through false comparisons is wrong. In the fourth line, the speaker exaggeratedly says that his beloved’s head is covered with black wires. Similarly, in the eighth line, the speaker says that his beloved’s breath reeks, which is an exaggeration. The purpose of this exaggeration is to highlight the absurdity of the conventional comparisons of humans’ breath with perfumes.
What rhyme scheme is used in the sonnet?
The rhyme scheme of this sonnet is traditional ababcdcdefefgg. The first twelve lines make three quatrains with an alternate sound pattern, and the last two lines make a rhyming couplet.
What does the speaker bring in the couplet?
In the couplet, the flow of the sonnet takes a turn as the speaker brings volta. He claims that despite all the flaws, he is pure love in his heart for his mistress.
What does the speaker say in the sonnet 130?
William Shakespeare’s sonnet 130 opens with the speaker talking about his mistress’ eyes. But it doesn’t seem to be a lover’s usual attempt to glorify in verse the beauty of the woman he loves. Rather we see the exact opposite. The speaker here negates the comparison between his mistress’ eyes and the brilliance of the sun. Here, the lady’s eyes are not as bright as the sun.
How many sonnets are there in Shakespeare's Sonnet 130?
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 is a part of all 154 sonnets which were published in 1609 in a quarto titled “ Shake-speare’s Sonnets ”. All these sonnets were written between 1594 and 1602. While the first 126 sonnets in the collection were addressed to a Fair Youth named Mr. W.H., the remaining sonnets (127-154) were addressed to a Dark Lady. The present sonnet belongs to the second part.
What color is the woman's cheeks in Shakespeare's sonnet?
The perfectly beautiful women possess a reddish rosy blush on their white cheeks. But the lady in Shakespeare’s sonnet is not that beautiful in the stereotypical sense, as her skin is dark in complexion. When the speaker goes to measure the beauty of his beloved in the standard sense, he seemingly finds her to be hopelessly deficient in it.
How many quatrains are there in Sonnet 130?
Like all other Shakespearean sonnets, Sonnet 130 consists of three quatrains and a couplet with the rhyme scheme being ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The first twelve lines rhyme in alternating pairs developing the main idea of the poem. The rhyming couplet sums it up well.
What is the meter used in a sonnet?
The meter used here is iambic pentameter. This is almost a norm for sonnets though. An iambic meter is a disyllabic meter where a stressed syllable comes after an unstressed one. Pentameter means five feet in a line. There are a few exceptions in the poem’s meter. For example, the first foot of the second line is a trochee.
What is Shakespeare's mistress?
In Sonnet 130, Shakespeare depicts his mistress as a dark lady who is deficient in beauty as per society’s standard.
How many quatrains are in a Shakespearean sonnet?
But Shakespeare broke this convention. He invented a new structure. Now this is called Shakespearean sonnet. The Shakespearean sonnet consists of three quatrains and a couplet.